Unexpected Support
by pebblekit
Summary: FE 9 and 10 Shinon is going through a rough time. But even in the darkest of places in the darkest of times, there is a light waiting to guide him to safety- even if that light is a white-winged laguz that he doesn't even know very well.


_Pebblekit:_ Hi there everyone! I've reached some writer's block with my other story, so I'll write this one in the mean time. This one shot will mark my third fanfiction ever and I'm a little nervous. It's in response to Alais's request, so I'll try my best. However, I've never really done a story like this, so I'd really appreciate it if some of you tell me how I did. I'm sure it's nothing like what Alais had in mind, but once I started writing, this is what came out. Also, this will be my first story where Rolf isn't the central character, so I'm a little out of my comfort zone. I apologize if it's not very good… the beginning is really slow too.

Just so you guys know, my Shinon here is the Shinon from my multi-chapter story. He may be a little different from the game, so if he seems OOC, that might be right.

Disclaimer: I don't own "Fire Emblem" or anything to do with it.

**Warning: Spoilers Follow**

**Unsuspected Support**

"Uncle Shinon! Look! Look at what I made!"

Shinon sighed deeply and closed his eyes tight. _Here we go again…_ Taking a deep breath, the sniper mentally forced all of his impatience and anger away. He really didn't like the sound of crying kids, and he had already heard enough of it from Rolf over the past few days. He turned around against his better judgment. "What is it, Rolf?"

"I finished my bow!" The sniper bit back the exasperated reply that immediately jumped to his tongue. When would Rolf learn that he just wasn't experienced enough to make a bow that would actually be of some use in battle? Nonetheless, the sniper crossed his arms and tapped his foot- the tell tale sign that he was at least willing to listen for a little while. "Here it is!" Rolf pulled out a whittled piece of wood that he had been holding excitedly behind his back.

Shinon blinked.

At first, he wondered if he was imagining things. But, after a full moment of staring, the truth finally smashed into him like a ton of bricks. The kid had actually done it. After months and months of trying, Rolf had finally made something that actually resembled a bow to some extent.

Shinon continued to stare before he realized what he was doing and cleared his throat. After all, just because the weapon looked okay, that didn't mean it fired the same way. Keeping this in mind, Shinon chose his words carefully, trying not to upset the child before him. "Um…it's really nice…and…stuff…but, does it fire well?"

Looking back, the sniper wasn't exactly sure what he had expected. Maybe a sudden expression of panic, or disappointment, but what he got was the exact opposite. Rolf's face cracked into a wide, brilliant smile. "Yes! I just tried, and it fires straight and everything!" the kid's exuberance kept up for about a full minute before he suddenly frowned slightly. "Shinon, I know that I keep telling you this, but I really think that I got it this time. I was wondering if you'd maybe…like to look it over or something?" This last part sounded hopeful as he scuffed his small feet against the ground uncomfortably.

Shinon desperately looked for something, anything that could get him out of this predicament. "Uh, well, Rolf, I'm a little busy right now…so..." Shinon felt his stomach jump at the sheer sadness the kid displayed and quickly amended, "but I'll try after the battle tomorrow, alright?"

Rolf looked down. "But, I wanted to give it to you so you could use it."

The sniper didn't know how to answer and found himself at a loss for words. Finally, after several minutes of arguing with himself over the matter, he sighed and held out his hand. "Alright, alright, I'll take it. Stop crying like a baby. If you keep that up, you'll die for sure tomorrow."

Rolf perked up immediately. "Okay! Thanks uncle Shinon!" with that, the kid thrust the bow into his mentor's hands. "Mist asked me for some help in the kitchen, so I have to go. I'll see you later, okay?" Shinon nodded, resigned. Rolf smiled widely again before running off to the cooking tent at the edge of the mercenary group's temporary camp.

The sniper watched him until the kid was out of sight, and then turned to the weapon in his hand. The construction was still a little rough, but it was definitely sturdier than anything Rolf had been able to conjure up before. Shinon sighed again, wondering how on Tellius he had gotten himself into this mess, and turned to walk to the area he'd been practicing in earlier.

After all, he had nothing better to do.

------------------------

"So, what do you plan to do now?"

Shinon looked up at Oscar, gray eyes meeting squinty. He had come here to practice alone, but as it turned out, the lance paladin had already been there. The two had ended up shooting arrows at trees a little way off, and the sniper had found himself explaining what had just happened to the younger man.

Of course, Oscar hadn't said anything, at least, nothing to provoke a negative response. His question was the only thing that had come out of his mouth so far, and Shinon found himself grappling for an answer. "I don't know. The bow really does fire well- I don't think the arrows went anywhere I didn't aim, but…it feels awkward. It's a little lighter than the other ones I've been using. Then again, I have no reason to leave it behind, so I suppose I'll take it with me. Who knows? Maybe it will happen to save my life.

Oscar nodded, appearing to think deeply as he knocked another arrow to his own bow. The paladin let his shot fly, and both men watched as it buried itself deep into the bull's eye they'd nailed to the tree. Shinon blinked at the sight. Oscar had really gotten better since he'd picked up his second weapon.

Said paladin lowered his bow, frowning deeply. "Shinon, I'm not so sure that's a very good idea."

The sniper looked to his comrade, wondering what Oscar was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"Well, tomorrow is the final battle, isn't it? We're going up against Ashnard and his best men. I don't think it'd be very prudent to take a brand new bow with you- one that you're not very familiar with. What if something were to happen?"

"Like what?" Shinon scuffed. "I'm much more skilled than you seem to think I am, Oscar. Nothing's going to happen."

"Maybe not, but still…"

"Look, Oscar, nothing will go wrong. We've won all of the battles up until this point, and we've had no casualties. Tomorrow is going to go off without a hitch. I guarantee you. Ike may be an idiot, but he's not going to blow all of our hard work."

Oscar shook his head slowly. "Shinon, arrogance is the path to destruction. You can't win every one, and you most certainly can't be sure everything is going to be okay. You do realize that, don't you?"

Shinon looked at Oscar. Among everyone in the Greil Mercenaries, Rolf and Oscar were the only ones that could break him down like this, to the point that he had no idea what to say. Janaff and Gatrie could make for an interesting time- an odd conversation or something of the sort, but they weren't nearly as…perceptive. Rolf, though he didn't look like it, could read emotions fairly well, and could always tell when something was wrong, and, despite what everyone else said, Shinon was almost CERTAIN Oscar could read minds.

But he never mentioned this, and he tried to avoid thinking about it whenever he could. If he just ignored the facts in front of him, he could continue in ignorance, which was apparently 'bliss' to some people. It was through this line of thinking that he found an answer to Oscar's query. "Maybe so, but we've come too far. Ashnard is all that's left. Whether we win or lose, the next battle will be the end of this whole ordeal."

"Yes, it will be, but I'm not sure we should think of it that way. Why not consider it the beginning of a new adventure? No matter what we do to change what's happening, there will always be another problem, Shinon, another conflict around the bend."

"Like what?" Shinon didn't like the way that Oscar was acting.

The paladin took a little time to answer, pulling up his bow and preparing another arrow. "Just keep in mind that even men like Commander Greil don't live forever." His arrow thwacked loudly into the center of the target, just centimeters from the last, as though to accentuate his point.

Shinon blinked and thought about that. It was true- now that he thought of it, they had had a casualty, and it had been the one person they had all thought would make it through everything. But…Commander Greil was gone, and his legacy now rode on Ike's shoulders.

On all of theirs.

The sniper felt the impulse to shake this thought from his mind, but ignored it. He raised his bow, the one Rolf had made for him, and he and Oscar kept on practicing.

------------------

A warrior rushed towards them, his ax glinting in the sunlight, only to be stopped by Oscar's lance. Shinon paid no heed to the enemy and aimed at a sage preparing what was sure to be a nasty spell. The bow Rolf had made him was working as well as any other, and because of its light weight, the sniper wasn't nearly as tired as he usually would be this far into the battle. Rolf was next to him, and the kid's face was jolting in every direction, trying to watch everything at once. Astrid was ahead, riding next to Oscar and Boyd, clearing the way for their small party.

Ike had ordered the four of them to clear the left side of the oversized garden at Melior. In a few minutes, they'd reach the end and be able to turn right in order to meet up with the rest of the group.

Shinon took down the sage and turned towards a halberdier. The Crimean Liberation army was outnumbered badly, but he paid that thought no mind. Right now, he had to keep fighting, had to keep moving in order to win back their capitol. To be honest, he didn't like Ashnard that much, and he sure as heck wasn't about to be a citizen under him.

The sniper was so lost to his thoughts that he wasn't watching behind him. In fact, it was Rolf that noticed the soldiers coming up to them. "Shinon! Look out!"

Shinon turned, his heart beat accelerating, knowing he wasn't going to be able to counter whatever was coming fast enough…

Then, without warning, something jabbed into his ribcage, hard enough to cause him to call out in shock and stumble a few feet to the side. An arrow zipped past, narrowly missing him. Rolf wasted no time and drew his bow up, firing his own shot. The enemy sniper that had followed behind them slumped, followed by a sword master and general, courtesy of Oscar and Astrid.

Shinon let out the breath he hadn't been aware of holding as he came to grips with what had just happened. He had just nearly died, and Rolf had saved him.

The sniper looked at the kid next to him, hardly daring to believe the truth. The tiny archer looked back worriedly. "Are you okay? He didn't get you, did he?"

Shinon slowly shook his head as his mind caught up with his body. "No…thanks…"

Rolf didn't smile, but he nodded. "Of course. What are friends for?"

Shinon didn't know how to respond, so he allowed his mind to drift for a moment. "What indeed."

-----------------

Later that night, all of the Greil Mercenaries were celebrating. Ashnard had fallen, thanks to Ike and Giffca, some dark furred sub-human that Shinon had never met before. Crimea had been liberated, Elincia had ascended to the throne, and all was right with the world.

Or so it seemed.

Shinon sat in a soft chair, the first he had encountered in awhile, and downed another drink. Rolf stood by, watching in exasperation and dismay. "Uncle Shinon, why are you doing that?"

"Why not? It's a celebration, ain't it?" he hiccupped back.

The kid rolled his eyes. "Is that your reason, or your excuse?"

Shinon looked thoughtfully at his now-empty cup. "Hmm…I 'spose it's both…" Something flashed in his mind, and the sniper chuckled lightly at the memory. "This reminds me abou' the time waaaaaay back whe' 'ommander Greil gave me my first lecture." he looked at Rolf. "Funny. You look a' awwwwwwful lot like 'im."

The smaller sniper stared back at him. "Will you tell me the story?"

"Nope. When yer' older, 'an maybe."

"You promise?" his voice was disbelieving.

Shinon flapped his arm back and forth carelessly, not really paying attention to what he was doing. "Sure, sure, if I remember."

Rolf sighed deeply and grabbed his mentor's arm roughly. "Come on, I'm going to get you some fresh air."

"Yeah right," Shinon retorted, swiftly yanking his arm away. "I'm stay'in righ' here, an' nothin' you do can stop me."

"You want to bet?" Rolf's voice grew low and dangerous. Shinon was slightly surprised at the kid's change of demeanor, but he simply shrugged. What could he possibly do to him to get him to move? All Shinon had to do was be stubborn until Rolf left- like usual.

However, to the sniper's surprise, the green-haired midget just turned and walked off. He turned back to his glass and chuckled to himself. It wasn't like Rolf to leave empty threats, but who was he to complain? Of course, his happiness didn't last long as his apprentice came back. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone.

"Shinon?" The sniper looked up as he recognized the deep, kind voice to meet Oscar's gaze. "What are you doing?"

The sniper held up his glass, hiccupping again. "Wha's it look like I'm doin'?"

Oscar sighed, sounding and looking a lot like Rolf for just a small moment. "Oh, Shinon, what am I going to do with you? Come on, let's get you outside." Shinon turned back to his cup, but Oscar thrust his hand firmly under the sniper's shoulder. At first, Shinon resisted as the paladin yanked him up into a standing position, but as soon as he reached his feet, he grabbed his friend's arm. The world was spinning so fast that he could hardly even see where he was, much less figure out what he was doing.

Under Oscar's careful guidance, he felt himself leave the coolness of the Crimean castle and walk into the hot, sticky, summer night. Despite that, the air felt cool and nice against his face, and Shinon vaguely started to wonder when he had started to sweat so much. Oscar led him over to something that sounded like running water and sat him down on a hard surface. Shinon didn't complain- his head felt like it was about to split open.

He heard trickling, and then Oscar's voice filled the quiet air. "Shinon, I'm about to put a damp cloth against your head."

Shinon was about to nod, but (thankfully) thought better of it at the last moment. "Otay," he answered in a very slurred voice. He felt something against his forehead a moment later, and gasped at the odd sensation it left. His eyesight slowly grew sharper, though not nearly as efficient as it normally was, and his head started buzzing slightly instead of pounding painfully.

Oscar had disapproval written all over his face, and Shinon suddenly felt strangely like a scolded child. "Shinon, I understand that everyone is in very high spirits right now, but there is absolutely no reason for you to have gone so far over board. Alcohol isn't good for you, and there is no excuse for letting it get such a deep hold over you."

Shinon smirked, trying to come up with a witty response in his agonizingly slow mindset. "How would YOU know?" he asked dimly, prodding Oscar's chest with his finger harder than he had really intended. "I didn' see YOU drink anythin'."

Oscar frowned even deeper than he already was as he dabbed Shinon's cheeks with the damp cloth. "I don't drink alcohol."

The sniper realized that they were sitting on the edge of a rather large fountain. He wondered idly if it was really as big as he thought it was, or it his eyes were just playing tricks on him. However, in his altered state, he couldn't really tell. He looked away from the dark water next to him that was reflecting the moon above and instead focused on the paladin in front of him. "You took your armor off."

It was true- Oscar was wearing kacky pants and what appeared to be a dark green turtleneck. How he wasn't dying of heat stroke was a mystery to Shinon. "Yes, I took it off some time ago, as did you, and everyone else in the group."

"Why're you wearin' winter clothes?" he asked in genuine curiosity.

Oscar started to press the cool cloth against Shinon's neck as he presumably thought of an answer. "I don't like being around my old knighthood friends when they're drunk. They can get a little out of control sometimes."

Shinon was about to ask what his comrade meant when a giant crash sounded from where the two had come from just moments before, followed by a tremendous "BOOOOOOYYYYDDDDD!", probably from a small, lime-green haired sniper.

All of the color immediately drained from Oscar's face and he leapt up from his seat. "Shinon, wait here, okay? I'll be right back." He then ran off towards the entrance to the castle as fast as he could.

Shinon watched him go and sighed, wondering what he'd do until the paladin got back. He picked up the cloth Oscar had left behind and pressed it to his face, feeling the water cool off his skin.

It was about a minute that he sat there like that, perfectly still and alone, until he heard a rustle from a couple of feet away. Shinon, aware that there might still be a couple of Daein soldiers sneaking around, immediately dropped the cloth and spun around, grabbing behind him for a bow, forgetting that he had left them all in his room.

However, as he saw the person in front of him, he realized that his weapon wouldn't be necessary. At first, he thought it was the irritable white-winged sub-human that had fought with them against Ashnard, but upon further inspection, he discovered that he was wrong. This one was much more slight than Reyson, her hands dainty and her eyes a bright blue that put the sky to shame. Shinon, for the first time, was completely drawn in by a laguz, unable to shift attention elsewhere.

The young woman smiled warmly at him and took a timid step forward, her gown swaying slightly and her brilliant wings ruffling the slightest bit. Shinon spit back the initial response that ran through his head, and for once, cursed the booze that was running rampant in his system. After all, this was a sub-human.

Shinon cleared his throat stiffly. "What d'ya want?" The laguz woman just cocked her head slightly to the side. The sniper sighed in frustration. "If you 'ave no reason ta' be here, then go 'way." The heron girl just stood there. She stared at Shinon with those fierce, clear, eyes. Shinon shook his head in exasperation and turned towards the entrance to the castle. This was why he hated sub-humans, at least, it was one of the many reasons- they thought they were too good for humans…beorc…whatever. There was no other reason that she would be ignoring him like this.

However, the woman didn't leave. On the contrary, she walked over lightly, hardly making a sound and stood in front of Shinon. The sniper looked up at her, wondering what was going on. Finally, she opened her mouth, but the words that came out made no sense whatsoever to Shinon.

"…Excuse me?" Shinon asked, blinking in confusion.

The girl took a deep breath and spoke again, a little more enthusiastically this time. But, Shinon was still as lost as ever.

He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger. "Yer' not makin' any sense," he managed after a moment of working through his numbing tongue.

The heron didn't answer though. She just looked on in something that looked like disappointment. At that moment, however, Oscar came back out. He had somewhat of a harassed looked about him, but other than that, he seemed perfectly calm. When he noticed the new arrival though, he stopped dead, staring for a good moment before his senses began to return to him. Quickly, the paladin bent into a clumsy bow. "Ah…please forgive me, my lady, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Shinon was about to open his mouth, about to tell Oscar that this course of action was a fruitless endeavor, but the heron beat him to it. Before other man could do anything, she was spouting random bits of a language the sniper couldn't even begin to understand. When she finally stopped, Oscar shook his head slowly.

"I apologize, your highness, but I can't speak the ancient language, and I highly doubt that my friend here can either."

The heron looked at him a moment before nodding. Then, without warning, she turned to Shinon and reached out towards him. The sniper was still a little slow, but he had enough sense to realize that a subhuman was about to touch him. On impulse, his hand reached out and grabbed her wrist roughly, forcing it away. "Don' touch me," he managed in a slightly stern voice.

The lady's eyes widened and Oscar closed the gap between him and the other two. "I'm so sorry, Lady Leanne," the heron's eyes snapped over to him at what was clearly her name.

She said something again in that weird language, and Oscar appeared to be listening intently as she made some jerky movements. Obviously, she wasn't used to communicating through sighs.

Oscar eventually nodded and turned back to Shinon. "Shinon, go ahead and let her finish."

"Finish what?" he asked sharply, not sure what to think.

"She's going to help you."

Leanne reached out her hand again, more hesitantly this time. Shinon stared at her, trying to assess the situation, but he was at a loss. Finally, after several minutes, he nodded slowly. He hated sub-humans to no end, but he trusted Oscar at least somewhat, and that was what eventually convinced him that this might be okay.

Leanne looked relieved and gently put her fingers to his forehead. A blinding light appeared where their skin made contact, and Shinon screwed his eyes tightly closed. Slowly, his head cleared, and his senses came back to him as warmth flooded every centimeter of his body. After what seemed like the shortest second, yet the longest year, the sensation ended, and Shinon opened his eyes.

The heron smiled down at him as he looked confusedly around, realizing that he could see as clearly as if he hadn't had any drink at all that night, as though he was as sober as Rolf or Oscar.

The paladin smiled and bowed again to Leanne. "Thank you very much Milady."

The heron cocked her head to the side and gazed at him a moment before repeating is action. As she bowed gently, Oscar turned slightly pink in embarrassment. "Oh…no, you're not supposed to…I mean…"

Leanne smiled warmly and gracefully walked back in the direction she had come from.

As Shinon turned to watch her, he found himself lost for words.

---------------------

Days passed by, the sun traveling through its continuous cycle in the sky. Seasons turned, and with them, the mercenaries grew stronger. Mia had joined them after the Mad King's war, so their final number count had stayed the same even without Commander Greil to lead them (if you counted Rolf and Mist as initial members, that is). Ike was trying very hard to fill his father's shoes, and though he really was no match for his predecessor, not even Shinon could criticize his wonderful efforts. They were all still alive, which was a miracle in itself.

Rolf had grown.

Not much, but he had. No one really noticed, but the little sniper, after about a year had passed from the end of the war, had finally caught up to Mist in terms of height, and had surpassed her about a month later. He now had about an inch and a half on her, and Oscar was getting stuck in the lovely situation of having to mend Rolf's pants so they'd keep on fitting his littlest brother.

Thriving or not, the mercenaries were constantly in need of money, and Rolf didn't seem to mind hand-me-downs or adding patches to clothing instead of just going out to get new ones. This took a lot of strain off of the three brothers' budget, which was already suffering due to Boyd's growth spurt. The warrior was now only about two inches shorter than Oscar, who Shinon swore was also still growing, no matter what was natural and what wasn't.

Not only that, but everyone had matured in other ways as well. Rolf wasn't crying nearly as much, and Mist wasn't forcing her thoughts on everyone in sight anymore. Boyd and his little brother didn't argue quite as much, Ike was getting more and more confident in his decisions, Titania remained faithfully by her Commander's side, along with Soren, Rhys was learning to speak his mind when he wanted to, not just when he needed to, Oscar was Oscar, Mia wasn't quite as hyper (though she still was annoying a lot of the time), and Gatrie…well, Gatrie hadn't changed much, now that Shinon thought of it. Neither had he, but he was starting to feel as though his patience had improved a little.

Everyone's fighting had definitely taken a turn for the better too, which was one of the most helpful things. Bandits almost constantly ransacked nearby villages, and citizens always came over pleading for their group to help. To put it simply, the Greil Mercenaries were almost constantly busy, saving someone from something, so it was very helpful that they all knew their way around a battlefield.

Shinon sat lazily under a tree, whittling away at a tree branch that he was slowly converting into a bow. He was sure that Rolf was somewhere nearby, observing, but he didn't know where. The sun above was shining down with intense heat, making his brow sweat. The salty water dripped into his eyes now and then, stinging, but he ignored it and continued working.

After several minutes, he heard a small rustle off to the side and froze. Chances were, it was just Rolf, coming to ask him a question about something, but the sniper was way too experienced to let his guard down- he only did that when he was stone cold drunk.

He peered around a tree nearby, pulling his bow that he had set on the ground up into his hands. However, as soon as he saw Rolf's brilliantly green hair, he relaxed and dropped the weapon. Though he was glad it wasn't some sort of enemy, he was still slightly irritated. Just how many times had he told the kid to stay away from him while he was working? The only exception to that was if Ike saw it fit to put the two of them together on the same job, which didn't happen as often as it used to.

He sighed, showing Rolf just how exasperated he was. "Rolf, what are you doing here?"

The smaller sniper crept forward slowly, unsure of himself. "Um…Ike sent me to tell you to come back to the fort. We have a guest, and he wants everyone there to listen to what he has to say."

Shinon immediately forgot about his disdain, overtaken by curiosity and slight excitement. It was rare for all of them to be called together for a gathering at once, and even more so if it was last minute like this. That usually meant that something important was about to happen. The sniper stood, slinging his bow over his shoulder and grabbing a piece of twine that was attached to tie it there. His fingers created the knot easily in front of his chest, securing his weapon. Rolf watched him, not saying anything for a moment before Shinon nodded and they both set off to return to the fort.

The sniper, though he would never admit it to another living soul, was actually getting a tad bit excited. He was sick and tired of only being able to fight bandits that hardly knew how to wield axes, much less anything else. He had exceptional skills, so why was he stuck doing such boring work? _Because I chose to, back when I rejoined this group. _

It was true. After he had left the Daein army, he had come running back here, with no where else to go. That fact didn't really bother him much- after all, the Greil Mercenaries had welcomed him back with open arms- he just didn't find life to be nearly as exiting ever since the war had ended three years before. Some of the others felt the same way, like Gatrie, but they'd never actually tell Ike. They weren't murderers that killed people for no reason, they defended others. That was probably the only reason why they were all still at least somewhat sane.

Shinon and Rolf made it back to the fort within a few minutes, for he hadn't strayed that far. Both walked through the front door, following Mia, who had gotten there around the same time. Shinon couldn't help but wonder what was going on as they made their way to the mess hall, where most of their meetings were held. However, when they reached it, the sniper nearly stopped in his tracks, not able to believe what he was seeing.

Sure, some of the old veterans from the Mad King's war had come back to visit once in awhile, but never _him_. Whenever he came back, there were at least one or two other people with him. That made it even odder- the fact that he was alone.

Ike looked up at their entrance as Boyd came through another door. Everyone else was already there, seated in the squishy chairs or on the couch, or just standing around in a random place that hadn't already been occupied. Oscar was in his dark green apron and Gatrie had his armor on, having come straight from practice.

Ike smiled as Shinon crept over and sat on the couch between Rolf on his left and Oscar on his right. Now, all of the mercenaries had assembled. The Lord nodded his head at their guest. "I've called you all here because our friend here has something important that he'd like to say. All of you probably remember, but just in the case that you don't, this is the Count Bastian of the Crimean Court. He fought alongside us in the Mad King's war.

Bastian, however, didn't smile. In fact, he looked extremely serious, which was frightening because the wind sage never usually was. Shinon found himself shifting uncomfortably, wondering what could possibly be happening as the Count opened his mouth. He also never spoke in anything but verse, so when his bland prose filled the room, everyone seemed to be set a little on edge. "I've come here to ask for the help of all of you. Crimea is in danger, and I seek help to protect its fair land and queen. Of course, I'd be willing to pay you," he added, as though he was afraid they'd all back down.

_Yeah, right, _Shinon thought grudgingly. _Knowing Ike... _

He didn't even need to finish his thought, for it was confirmed that very moment. "Don't worry about that," the blue haired Commander said, worry skirting behind his eyes. "What is wrong with Crimea? Is Queen Elincia okay?"

Bastian nodded. "Not to worry- our fair maiden is still safe, at least, she is as of this moment. However, the fires of rebellion are churning in our country brothers who don't take kindly to how Crimea has changed these past few years."

"A rebellion?" Mia was the first to break the long silence that followed. "Who in their right mind would do that?"

"Someone who thought they'd have a lot of supporters," Oscar answered grimly, staring down at his apron.

Soren, who was sitting next to Ike, nodded. "That is probably correct." He turned to Bastian, some of his black bangs swaying slightly with the movement. "Do you have any idea who is in charge?"

Bastian leaned forward at that point, as though he was suddenly afraid of unwanted listeners. "I'll tell you everything. Though, it's somewhat of an involved story, so I'll need patience from each and every one of you."

Shinon sighed quietly to himself. Despite the fact that he didn't like the sound of this 'rebellion', he still couldn't help but think that this was going to be a long day.

----------------------

The sniper deftly leaped out of the way of a fire geyser, feeling a slight relief when he saw that he hadn't even been singed. _How did this happen? _Bastian's petty little task of quelling a small uprising had evolved into a full-out war. Now, they were trying to get through these stupid caves that were about an inch away from burning everyone to a crisp.

Shinon felt a small prod in his back and he stumbled forward, watching for any loose rocks. The footing wasn't very good here either, comprised of lovely sand that was capable of slipping even the most adept warrior up and small stones that weren't very sturdy at all. Rolf was next to him, ambling along, his face turned toward the ground as well. Oscar was behind, telling them when it was safe to go and when not to. On his horse, the paladin could see over most of the small hills of rocks that surrounded them on all sides, so he could see many of the enemy movements.

Shinon cursed as he slipped AGAIN, quickly regaining himself and hoping that no one had noticed. Much to his dismay, however, he felt his feet slide out from under him as he fell forward. The ground he landed on was burned through, charred and sticky from years of being pummeled by heated fire. The sniper quickly tried to regain his composure, desperate to get out of the area before he got hit by spraying lava. Rolf saw the problem and pulled back on his arm hard. Shinon barely got away before the ground was assaulted by the fire's burning hatred.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he stared at what could have been him, and then turned to Rolf, not able to believe that this kid had saved his life again. "Thanks."

Rolf smiled back and shrugged. "What are friends for?" He quickly hid his own arm behind his back, but not before Shinon caught sight of its slightly burned skin. _He got hurt trying to save me…_

Oscar came up to their side, urging his horse to a stop and interrupting Shinon's thoughts. "This battlefield is extremely dangerous and unpredictable… I sure hope the others are okay."

Boyd came up from behind at that point, being the last member of their quartet. Soren usually divided the team into small parties that stuck together. The warrior grinned devilishly at his older brother. "Don't you mean you hope Astrid is okay, wherever she is?"

Oscar turned BRIGHT red. "T-that's not…that has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, come on, Oscar, we all know how you feel!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you do."

"Boyd, this is neither the time nor the place for-"

"EVERYBODY LOOK OUT!" Rolf interrupted, bellowing at the top of his lungs.

Shinon turned to where the teenager was pointing, and felt his heart plummet. Before them were dark sages, probably either necromancers or summoners. Shinon had never been hit by a dark spell, and he didn't feel like experimenting now. When of them raised his hand and started chanting darkly, beginning to glow a dark purple, he took a small step back. However, before he could do anything, Rhys popped out from around a hill of boulders. "Shine!" the priest yelled in his usually calm and quiet voice.

As he took one down, Mia rushed past him and plunged her sword into the chest of another. A wind spell hit the last, undoubtedly unleashed by Soren. Shinon let out the breath he finally realized he had been holding in relief. Now, there were only a few enemies left, and the sniper was raring to go. If anything, he really wanted to get out of these stupid caves before one of the mercenaries got burned alive.

Everyone met up at that point within the next few minutes or so. Immediately, Rolf left to go stand next to Mist. Part of Shinon was actually really sad to see the teenager go. In the Mad King's War, the two of them had almost always been partners and gone through each battle together. Though they still did in some places, in particularly dangerous areas like this, the younger sniper went to be with Mist instead.

In Shinon's eyes, a small rift was beginning to form between him and his small apprentice, a rift that he wouldn't be able to bridge. Love was something that he just wasn't very accustomed to past friendship level, so he felt as though, often as he might want to try, it just wasn't going to be very fair of him to encroach on the sacred area that Rolf and Mist sometimes went to.

The sniper shook his head, trying to get rid of these thoughts. Rolf was growing up, and he was every bit as entitled to happiness as the next person. Besides that, Mist hadn't done anything wrong.

So, why was he angry? Why, at some points, did he feel as though he was losing one of the only reasons he was still there? Oscar was important to him to, someone he could talk to should the need ever arise. But, according to Boyd, the paladin seemed to be moving forward with his life too, something that someone like Oscar deserved to have happened long ago.

Gatrie was still there, but he wasn't as easy to talk to, and he didn't understand some things that Shinon did. Despite the logic behind everything, that he should just let his two friends be, Shinon felt alone and alienated. Before, the sniper would have given anything for a moment to himself, but now that he had experienced what it was like to have people always behind him, always willing to lend a helping hand, he didn't want to give it up.

The sniper closed his eyes tightly, listening as the mercenaries engaged the last of the enemies in this battle. After a moment, his mind was focused once more, and he knocked an arrow, aiming at a halberdier.

------------------------

Shinon sat alone, staring at the silent world that the goddess had sealed away. Why? Why had the one being that everyone in all of Tellius put their faith in turned against them? Why?

The marksman didn't need an answer to know that it was because of human nature, because they had caused so much destruction. Now that the final country had joined in the war, the country of wolf sub-humans across the desert, there really wasn't any hope of avoiding what had happened. And yet, Shinon felt responsible, somewhat. He had fought, not knowing what would happen if he did so, and now he was paying the consequences. But why couldn't he have been frozen too? Largo hadn't been a part of this, but he was, and so were all of the people and sub-humans fighting. Why had he and his team, part of the reason behind all of this, not been punished too?

Shinon sighed and wrapped his arms around his legs. It was too quiet for his liking, too peaceful, yet tense. That was probably why he noticed the teenager coming long before he had shown his face. The marksman had heard those footsteps so many times, following him around, running through battle and death, fighting by his side…that he could recognize them from a mile away.

"What is it, Rolf?"

The smaller marksman stepped forward and sat next to him, his face worried. "Uncle Shinon, are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm just a little…lost is all."

Rolf was silent for a long time before he answered. "You know…I felt that way too, until I pulled out this old book that Oscar wrote for me awhile ago." Shinon turned to look at him in curiosity. Rolf looked pensive, as though thinking of what to say. "In it, there was this main character that was about how old I am right now. He did something wrong- I can't really remember what- and it caused a lot of people to get hurt. Some even died. The character's name was Leo, and he was so torn by what he had done that he felt guilt tugging at him, knocking at his door wherever he went. The people that knew about him treated him horribly, like garbage. They hit him, threw things at him, called him names, you name it. One day, when he thought for sure that he couldn't handle it anymore, he decided to end it, end him, end everything."

Shinon just stared, not sure what to think. It didn't really sound like Oscar to write about someone that was going to commit suicide or something. "What happened?" he asked, sure that there was more to this story.

Rolf continued, his voice growing stronger with every word, as though his confidence had been boosted by Shinon's question. "He went to a bridge. However, just as he was about to jump off, a man came up to him, an elderly man. This man looked at Leo and said 'hello there. I hope you're having a nice day'. Of course, he couldn't have known what Leo was about to do. Leo was so shocked that someone he didn't even know had said that to him, he asked the old man:

'Why did you say that?'

The man answered, 'because if there was no kindness in the world, where would we all be?'

Leo was so used to being chastised that he didn't know what to say, and he followed the old man a little ways, asking, 'what do you mean?'

'Everyone in this world deserves a smile, at the very least, so I gave one to you,' the old man answered him.

Leo, however, felt uncomfortable. 'But, I'm a horrible person! I've done things you can't even imagine. I caused people pain, and others death! You shouldn't waste your smiles on me.'

The old man, however, simply chuckled and said, 'No, I believe that it is people like you who need them most of all. So you made a mistake. All humans do. The important thing as that you learn from it and find a way to keep it from happening again. Move forward so that you can fix your mistakes, not let them build up. Find a way to make it better.'"

Rolf stopped telling the story and looked at Shinon. "Or something like that anyway. I'd like to think that that's what we're all doing right now- fixing a mistake that we made. Ashera must be stopped, and now, we're some of the only people left that can do it. If we wait any longer, if we give up now, then things are only going to get worse, right?"

Shinon tried to find words and failed. But, as he thought about it, even long after Rolf had patted him gently on the shoulder and left, a realization hit him.

The teenager, the old man, and Oscar, who had written it, were right.

----------------------

Ashera was just ahead, glowing a brilliant white light as she chanted to herself. Shinon felt his arm tense up, not sure exactly whether he should let his arrow fly or not. The last attack the goddess had unleashed had dealt major damage to the mercenaries. With one hit, she had taken out everyone on the right side of the battle field, namely Gatrie, Kurthnaga, Stephan, and Boyd. No one had had the chance to see if the four were just hurt or worse, and they probably wouldn't be able to until the battle had ended. Rhys and Mist were attempting to make their way over in that direction, but they had been cut off, trying to get away from the range of Ashera's next attack.

Rolf stood next to Shinon, staring at Boyd's limp body in worry and fear. It was the first time since the Mad King's War that the older sniper had seen such a forlorn look on his apprentice's face. Oscar and Astrid were nearby, hefting Soren and Mia onto their horses. The archsage and trueblade had been injured and couldn't stand on their own any longer. Needless to say, the mercenaries' position wasn't looking too bright at the moment.

Ashera unleashed her spell, engulfing the whole area in a flash of bright light. Shinon saw it coming and realized that he wasn't going to be able to dodge all of it. Silently cursing himself, he moved to the side, hoping to at least avoid the bulk of the attack.

"Uncle Shinon!"

The marksman's stomach felt like it was going to fall into a deep chasm once he had heard the small, high pitched voice that he recognized at a moment's notice, the voice that he knew so well. Right before he felt the two hands crash into his back, he knew what was going to happen and opened his mouth to stop the teenager. "No, Rolf!" but it was too late as the smaller marksman pushed him away. Shinon fell heavily to the ground, feeling Ashera's spell pass right over him, having dodged it by hardly a mouse length.

Worry bubbled up in him, and he swung his head around to look behind, knowing full well that Rolf wouldn't have been able to get out of the way. The green haired midget was crouched on the ground, gently nursing a bleeding arm that looked as though a tiger subhuman had gotten a hold of it. Shinon picked himself up and ran over to the teenager. "Are you okay?" he asked urgently, not able to think of anything else at the moment.

Rolf nodded, grimacing in pain. "Yeah…I don't think I'll be able to help much with the battle anymore though…" Shinon saw his friend grit his teeth as a tear formed and spilled over. The older sniper wiped the water from Rolf's cheek.

"You're an idiot. You know that, right?"

Rolf looked up at him, his big, green eyes prying. "How so?"

Shinon stared back in disbelief. "You could have died because you were trying to save me!"

The teenager shrugged. "What are friends for?"

At that moment, Ike yelled out. "If you're still conscious, yell out your name! Now!"

"Rolf!" the small sniper answered immediately.

Shinon bit back the sarcastic response that had leapt to his tongue, telling himself that this wasn't exactly the right time, and followed suit. "Shinon!"

"Soren!"

"Rafiel!"

"Rhys!"

"Mist!

"Yune!"

"Oscar!" Shinon's heart flipped when he noticed how weak the paladin sounded. He looked over and saw that Oscar was coaxing his horse back to a standing position where it had fallen as Soren was forcing himself to his feet. Astrid's horse was lying nearby, it's eyes closed. From behind it, an arm rose up and waved excitedly.

"I'm here! Mia!"

"Tauroneo!"

"B-Boyd," the warrior hacked from the other side of the room, hardly audible as he tried and failed to rise to a standing position.

Ike nodded, relief and worry clouding his eyes at the same time. "Alright. If you're able to keep fighting, yell your name again!"

This time, it took longer for everyone to react, so Shinon started it off. "Shinon!"

"Yune!"

"Rhys!"

"Rafiel!"

"Tauroneo!"

"Oscar!"

Ike frowned and sighed deeply. "We might only have one shot left," he said quietly. The room was deathly silent, and then Ashera started to prepare another spell.

"No!" Rolf said. "You guys have to attack her before she can finish! If you don't, we might all be dead within minutes."

The Commander nodded. "Everyone, at once, we'll charge her. On three! One! Two! THREE!"

Shinon knocked an arrow as Oscar rode past, so fast it seemed that every deity besides Ashera was on his side. From all sides of the room, the feeble number of mercenaries remaining able to fight rushed forward in one final attempt to stop their own goddess from destroying their world. Shinon let his arrow fly, watching as it embedded itself in Ashera's shoulder. Everyone else tried their best to reach wherever they could, and Ashera stopped speaking, appearing to be overwhelmed.

As Oscar and Tauroneo continued to jab at her with their lances, Yune turned to Ike, still in Michiah's body. "Take all of the power I have."

Ike acknowledged her, and as he went to deliver the final attack, his body awakened with Yune's strength, and as he brought his sword down, Ashera was no more.

--------------------

That night, there was an even bigger celebration then when Ashnard had been defeated, which could only mean one thing- Shinon got stone cold drunk once more. Rolf sat across from his mentor, absently mindedly rubbing his now-healed arm. The kid's eyes were full of disapproval and something that almost looked like resentment. "What are you doing, uncle Shinon?" he asked exasperatedly.

The older marksman held up his empty glass as though it was apparent. "Drinkin'."

"Yeah, but why?"

Shinon shrugged. "It's a celebration, ain't it?"

Rolf shook his head slowly in disbelief. "Is that your reason, or your excuse?"

Shinon blew a raspberry at him. Juvenile, yes, but fun? Also a yes. "I guess it's both agin'."

Rolf just stared at him for a moment. "Are you going to tell me that story?"

"What story?"

"The one about the first lecture Commander Greil ever gave you. You promised after the Mad King's War that you would when I was older, which I am now."

Shinon, despite his blurry mind, could tell that Rolf was stalling him from drinking anymore. Like that was going to happen. "Nah. I'll tell ya' later."

Rolf sighed. "Can't you stop drinking? For just a moment?"

"Nope."

The smaller marksmen finally gave up, looking angry. "Fine then." With that, he stood and walked away.

Shinon was sad to see him go, but didn't say anything. Rolf would probably be happier spending his time with Mist tonight anyway. The older marksman sighed deeply. He was alone, again, as he used to be, but somehow, it bothered him. He didn't like not having someone to talk to. Janaff was nearby, as was Gatrie, but they were both talking to someone else, drawn into their own little, happy, prefect worlds. Shinon looked around, but his brain was hardly registering any of what he saw. It wasn't for a few minutes that he realized who was missing. Where was…

"Shinon."

The marksman jumped, not accustomed to being sneaked up on. He turned and his gray eyes met squinty. "Oh. Hallo Oscar."

The silver knight had his hands on his hips and was glaring down at him. "Shinon, look at you! You're a mess!"

"And? I'm drunk."

"Exactly!" Oscar sighed and shook his head, very much like Rolf did when he was frustrated. "Come on, let's get you outside." The man stuck his hand in Shinon's armpit, just as he had three years ago after the Mad King's War, and countless times between then and now. The two slowly ambled away from the rest of the group.

Shinon didn't complain. He was in too much of an altered state to really know what was going on. Oscar sat him down on a bench and looked directly at him. "Wha'?" Shinon asked, finding it oddly inconvenient to move his tongue.

"Shinon, do you know how dangerous alcohol is?"

"Yeah. Wha's your poin'?"

"My point is that if you keep doing this, you may end up hurting yourself. Permanently!"

Shinon couldn't think of a snappy comeback, so he just shrugged. "Pah."

Oscar sighed just as another person came up. "Sir Shinon, might I ask if you are well?"

"Huh?" the marksman replied, vaguely recognizing the voice.

"If you don't mind me saying, I believe you look a little green."

"What do you care?" he snapped back at Astrid, who blinked several times before turning to Oscar.

"Do you want me to obtain a wet cloth?"

The silver knight turned red and shook his head as though trying to rid himself of a bothersome fly. "No, no! I'll take care of it. I was just about to get one anyway, so you needn't worry yourself."

Astrid smiled gently. "It is no trouble. I'll be back in just a minute." With that, she scooted off, walking with practiced balance. Shinon reflected on how lucky she was. He just remembered through the fog in his brain that the noblewoman had given them all a little of a scare after the battle earlier in the day, but Rhys had been able to fix her up.

Another thought hit him and he turned to look at Oscar, grinning wickedly.

His friend didn't miss the expression. "Shinon? What's wrong?"

"What'd 'ya mean?"

"Your smile is scaring me."

His just grinned wider. "You like her, don' you?"

Oscar froze, his face slowly starting to resemble something of a tomato. "W-what are you talking about? I have no idea what you're-"

"Oh, come on Oscar!" Shinon practically yelled at him, "almos' ever'body knows that you and Astrid have a chance at bein' somethin' of a couple! By the way, I approve."

"What are you talking about?!" Oscar started, but Astrid came back at that moment.

She gently handed the cloth to Shinon. "Here you go. Oh, Sir Oscar, Miss Titania said that she was in need of your assistance. Boyd seems to have found his way to the kitchen."

Oscar nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, of course, I'm on my way." Without further ado, he was gone. Shinon wasn't sure if the knight was trying to dodge him or Astrid, but either way, he found it funny.

Astrid smiled lightly at him. "I apologize, but I must be going now. My presence was requested in the dining room. Good luck." After that, she left too.

Shinon sat there, alone without anyone to talk to. The marksman was starting to feel a little down again. For a while, he had been happy, with people that he cared about and vice versa. But now, they had left, and he didn't have anything else to do. He found himself wondering if he could make it back to the party to drink some more without falling on the way, but thought better of it. He didn't want to see a furious Rolf or an angry Oscar, much less both. Even in his state, the last time that had happened was still fresh in his mind.

He sat there in silence, watching as a few birds dared to fly overhead in the fading light, and found himself wishing that he hadn't gone and gotten so plastered so early. Now what was he supposed to do for the rest of the night?

It wasn't long before he heard a slight sound from to the side, drawing his attention. The marksman slowly looked over, not wanting to move his head too fast. His breath caught in his throat as he came face to face with the white winged laguz again. He hadn't seen her much since the beginning of the goddess's war, and he hadn't spoken to her since the last time when Oscar was with him.

The angel-like creature came over and pointed at the empty spot on the bench. "May…I sit?" she asked, stumbling over her words slightly.

Shinon blinked.

Since when he she been able to speak the modern language? "Sure," he said, still a little shocked.

Leanne nodded and lowered herself down next to him. Her wing brushed gently against his face for a moment, and Shinon found himself marveling at how soft her feathers were. The heron laguz looked at him for a moment before raising her hand to his forehead again. Shinon found himself automatically pulling away slightly, but she still reached forward, her light fingers touching his damp forehead. She chanted something, and the vaguely familiar light from three years ago returned.

Shinon closed his eyes, waiting for the brightness and warmth spreading throughout his body to recede.

After a moment, everything started to feel normal again, and he opened his eyes. "Thanks," he said awkwardly, seeing her much more clearly than he had a moment before.

Leanne smiled brightly. "Don't…worry about…it…Just…want to…help."

Shinon nodded. He couldn't believe he was actually talking to a subhuman that wasn't Janaff. "You sure did. I don't have anything to give you in return though."

She shook her head. "Need…nothing…just thanks…enough."

Shinon was about to open his mouth to say something, but someone cut him off. "Leanne! What are you doing here?"

Both the heron and marksman looked towards the entrance to the building and saw Leanne's older brother, Reyson, standing in the doorway. "I was…talk…to…Shinon," the girl answered as she stood. Shinon wondered how she knew his name, but didn't say anything. Instead he just stared Reyson down. Whether the male heron noticed him or not was a different story though.

"Leanne, I told you not to talk to anyone unless I'm with you! Do you know how worried I was when I turned around and you were gone?!"

The princess walked over to her brother, frowning somewhat. "You not…let me talk."

"And for good reason! Any number of people here could take advantage of you! Like him," he gestured to Shinon. "Do you know what he could have done to you if you were alone together for too long? Now, let's go back inside."

The marksman felt anger at that. Despite his tendencies to…play and have fun, he had never in his life 'taken advantage' of someone in anything other than gambling over spare change. Nor did he have any plans to. Leanne looked uncomfortable as she followed her brother through the door back into the building. As she went, she looked back for just a moment. "Goodbye…Shinon."

Only after she left did he find the ability to move properly. "Bye…" he said, mostly to himself, wondering why she kept helping him when he was drunk and when he'd talk to her again. After all, she was a subhuman, so why did she even bother? He hated her kind. There was no reason for them to interact.

Although…he did have to admit that it felt nice, having someone besides Rolf or Oscar set him straight.

-----------------------

"Shinon, what are you doing?"

The marksman looked up to see two seriously irritated green eyes staring back down at him. "Drinkin'?" he asked sarcastically, holding up his empty cup with a hiccup.

Rolf rolled his eyes. "Why?"

"It's the anniversary of the end of the Mad King's War, ain't it?"

Rolf sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Is that your reason, or your excuse?"

Shinon spluttered impatiently. Every time this happened, that same question would somehow end up getting asked, and every time it was, he answered with the same response. "Don' know. Both, I guess."

Rolf was silent for a moment before he suddenly stuck his arm under Shinon's. "Come on then, let's get you out of here."

The older marksman waved the kid away and shook his head, immediately regretting it when it began to pound. "Go 'way. I wan' ta be alone."

Rolf held steady, though. "I don't think so. Now come on. It's a long way back to the mercenary fort, and we have to cross part of bandit country if we want to make it back before super. If you don't mind, I'd rather do that before it gets dark."

Shinon looked at his empty glass one last time and sighed. As usual, he wasn't going to win this battle. He hadn't during the Mad King's War, the Goddesses' War, or anywhere in the four years between then and now, nor was he going to this time. He slowly started to stand, leaning heavily on Rolf for support. The marksman faintly remembered awhile ago, when Rolf was too small to do this himself and had to go get help from Oscar.

However, the 'kid' was no longer a kid, and he was nearly as tall as Shinon now, so he had no problem hefting his mentor to his feet. "Alright, come on now," the young man said, guiding Shinon to a fading light that the sniper couldn't see clearly, but could only rationalize as being the front door.

Once more, Rolf had had to come down to save him, and Shinon wasn't sure he liked that thought very much. He was the one that was always getting drunk, so why did Rolf and Oscar have to suffer for his actions? They were always the ones to come and fetch him, to ensure that he could get back okay. As much as he hated the thought, the marksman tried to imagine what it would be like if he just quit drinking altogether. Although, after a moment, he realized that he probably wouldn't be able to do it.

Together, the two started back to the Mercenary Fort. As they passed into the area where bandits practically ruled, Shinon felt all of his senses suddenly tighten, as though expecting danger. More than once, he had been caught coming back with someone, but thankfully, both Oscar and Rolf were VERY good at talking themselves out of bad situations, and they had never actually had an altercation before.

For what seemed like hours of pounding headaches and blurry vision, they hiked. When the faintly glowing windows of the Fort came into view, the sun was down and they were walking through darkness. "You know," Rolf finally broke the silence they had slumped into. "Everyone was worried about you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Shinon mumbled. Every time this happened, someone said this speech to him. He had even gotten it from Mia and Gatrie before.

"You shouldn't scare them. They really do care for you, you know."

The marksman grumbled to himself. He considered Rolf to be one of his only friends. The rest of the Mercenaries, not including Oscar and Gatrie, seemed almost as distant to him at times as just acquaintances. He really didn't like to upset the three people that he actually felt like he could confide in. What would he do if they stopped talking to him or something? Who would he turn to then? If there was anything he had learned from the Mercenaries, it was that no one in the world could live alone for their whole life, and at least, not be happy while they were doing it.

Shinon wasn't very happy, but he'd been worse before. At least, now, he had a home to go to when he got into trouble.

He didn't answer Rolf. He just stumbled along, trying to remember how to put one foot in front of the other and vice versa. By the time they reached the door, the marksman was exhausted, to the point that he didn't even hear Gatrie when the knight greeted them. Rolf led him over to the usual couch, where he slumped into his usual space with his usual bad attitude.

Life had become a cycle to him, a ritual that he repeated over and over. He felt the couch sink lower next to him and figured that Rolf had sat down at his side. The younger marksman was talking to Mia, telling her that nothing had happened on the way back to the fort.

Shinon closed his eyes, blocking out all of the annoying sounds that surrounded him. His mind felt clogged, as though he had stuffed cotton into his brain. Every one of his limbs felt like a sack of sand that was too bothersome to move, including his eyes. He wasn't fully aware of anything going on around him either. All that seemed clear at this point was that he was in an altered state of mind, one that had become so familiar to him at this point that he thought nothing of just letting it wash over him in full force.

"I'm going to bed," Gatrie's voice broke out, forcing its way into Shinon's head. The marksman moaned as a particularly hard jab into his brain hit.

"So am I," Mia stated before a squeak came from the couch she'd been sitting on.

Rolf fell silent after that, and the two of them just sat there, not doing anything. After a little while, just as the older marksman was about to drift off to sleep, a warmth rose up to his chin from below him. Shinon, cracked open an eye and looked down. His sense of smell was dulled, but he could still detect a very nice aroma rising from a bowl someone was holding.

"I figured that you might want some, so I saved some for you and Rolf," Oscar's deep voice had a somewhat calming quality to it that didn't make Shinon's head pound as much as it did with others.

"Thanks, Oscar," Rolf said, standing up to presumably go get some.

Shinon continued staring at the light brown broth in front of him, numbly telling his hands to take the bowl. But, no matter how hard he tried, his body just didn't feel like reacting. Oscar, however, didn't seem bothered in the slightest as he sat down next to the marksman. Shinon, as much as he hated being helped, was quite reluctant to let the silver knight put a spoonful in his mouth, but he finally gave in, the stew's smell overpowering his resolve.

"So, what were you doing today?" Oscar asked kindly.

Shinon swallowed, feeling the warmth spread through his body. "I went to a bar."

"Did you have fun?"

"No."

"Then why did you stay?"

Shinon shrugged as he took in another spoonful.

Oscar didn't say anything else for a long time. Rolf returned a moment later and the three sat in awkward silence. Shinon felt his head clear somewhat and weakly grabbed the bowl from Oscar's hand, balancing it on his knee. It took a lot of mental effort, but he was eventually able to get the spoon to his mouth and back again.

"Daddy?" Shinon looked over to the hallway, squinting through the haze his eyes encountered, and saw a very slight child, no older than three.

"What is it, Rowan?" Oscar asked quietly, looking up. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

The child looked down. "Um…yes…But I can't get to sleep."

"Did you have another nightmare?" Rowan nodded, his dark-grass colored hair fluttering up and down. Oscar looked at Shinon and Rolf, who had just reentered the room, now laden with a bowl of his own soup. "I'll be right back, okay?" The younger marksman nodded, so Shinon didn't bother, focusing on getting more food in his stomach. Oscar stood and coughed slightly as he walked over to his small child. As they got further away, his coughs turned to hacks and wheezes that were almost painful to hear.

Shinon stared at his soup in thought, not sure what to say at that point. Rolf sat down next to him, on the side opposite Oscar had been on just before. The older marksman could feel his mind slowly flowing back to him, now that he had something other than alcohol in his system. He spoke to Rolf quietly, trying his hardest to keep his voice from not slurring. "Did he sound that bad yesterday?"

His old apprentice sighed deeply. "Oscar? No. I think he's getting worse, to the point where it's getting to be quite noticeable. Rhys said that he's really sick, and nothing he's tried has actually had much of an effect. Shinon…I'm worried. My brother has been through a lot, and he's made it through just as much. What happens if he doesn't this time?"

The older sniper may have been drunk, but not even he wanted to think about that. "Don't say anything like that. Oscar's strong. He'll make it. Ike left the company in his hands, and he isn't going to give up on any of us that easily."

"You know…if anything happens, it won't really surprise anyone if he names you the new Commander. And…I know he's fighting, but-"

"Rolf," he interrupted, turning to look right at his friend, "he'll be fine."

The lime-green haired young man looked down at the bowl of soup in his lap. "I hope you're right

-------------------

"Shinon, what are you doing here?"

The marksman, as he did almost all of the time now, looked down at his empty glass. "Drinkin'."

"Yes, but why?"

He looked up at Rolf, who now towered over him by a few inches when the two of them were standing. "I's the annivershry of the end of th' Goddess' War," he answered, as though it was obvious.

The younger man sighed and rolled his bright green eyes. "Is that your reason or your excuse?"

"Both."

"I figured that." Rolf looked at the ground for a moment before shoving his arm under Shinon's, as he had for almost seven years after the end of the Goddess's war. "Come on, let's get you home. There have been more acts of hostilities involving bandits, so I'd like to get going before it gets dark."

Shinon got up without much of an argument, used to this. His head spun faster than a hawk could strike an enemy, but he ignored the feeling, quite accustomed to it at this point. "Sure, sure, le's go."

The two left the bar, nobody noticing them because the sight was so familiar now. The sun was bright that day, shining through the clouds above relentlessly. "Hey, Shinon," Rolf said suddenly as they left the town behind and started up a grassy hill. "Will you tell me that story now?"

"When yer older."

It was becoming something of a joke now, because both of them knew that Shinon probably wasn't going to tell Rolf until the older marksman was on his deathbed. Still, they continued with Shinon hanging heavily off of his old apprentice, and Rolf supporting his weight with his shoulder. The land grew grassier and sported more slopes the further they got away from town and closer to bandit territory, which stood between them and the Mercenary fort.

Though they could go around the enemy's land, it would have taken several hours more, which meant they'd have to sleep outside- and that was much more dangerous than hiking for ten minutes through hostile land.

"Ya know, kid," Shinon slurred, his mind hardly present at all, "you've got tall…"

Rolf chuckled. "Shinon, I've been this way for awhile now."

"Yeah, I know."

"Then why'd you bring that up now?"

"Jus' fel' like it."

They didn't say anything more. Shinon felt his senses automatically hone somewhat, despite being almost completely intoxicated, as they crossed what was considered to be the boundary of bandit territory- an old, knotted tree that overhung the walking trail. From this point until they reached the small river about two thirds of a mile away, neither would say anything to avoid calling attention to themselves.

The sun was beginning to sink somewhat as they crouched and slowly made their way along through the thin forest littered with small hills and loose roots. Thankfully, Shinon knew this road almost by heart, due to all of the times he had traversed it, so his feet seemed to move of their own volition through the course undergrowth.

However, after about seven or eight minutes, when they could faintly hear the river up ahead, Rolf stopped dead. Shinon wasn't used to this action, so he stumbled horribly. Rolf caught him right before his knees slammed into the ground, and the older marksman turned to his old apprentice, his old temper flaring with a vengeance. "What the heck was that?!"

Rolf, however, didn't really appear to be paying attention to him. "Be quiet for a second," he said, his eyes shifting back and forth.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he processed that perhaps the young man heard or saw something, and Shinon found himself unconsciously searching for something nearby. However, his senses were so dulled that he couldn't even keep the pounding of his head separated from the birds that were chirping in the trees. In fact, he couldn't hear any birds, but whether that was him or the actual situation, he couldn't tell.

"Shhhh…" Rolf whispered, still looking jerkily around like a frightened squirrel.

Shinon didn't say anything and clenched his mouth shut. This was no time to be difficult, and he listened carefully to the sounds that were surrounding him. He had a feeling, a lingering sentiment that something, or someone, was close by, and his stomach turned upwards and in on itself. He couldn't shake the odd ringing that had started in his ears, and he felt like some sort of water body was closing in on him from all sides. However, his mind was such a dump that he couldn't even figure out if he was imagining things or not, and when it came down to it, he wasn't sure if there was anyone close by that wasn't Rolf or himself.

Rolf, however, didn't seem to share the same opinion, and he took a slow step forward. "Uncle Shinon, we need to get to the river. Now."

The older marksman wasn't in much of a state to argue, for his mind wasn't present enough to discern what was going on at the moment. As Rolf started to pull him, he followed, staring down at his feet to make sure he didn't trip. The edges of his vision were blurring, and every step he took was starting to echo hollowly in his head. Despite his inadvertent attention, after a moment, his heart rate sped up exponentially, as though he subconsciously knew that something was close by, waiting for him. Shinon tried to regulate his breathing, at least to distract him, but it didn't really work very well.

He wasn't paying attention to what was going on anymore, so when Rolf's voice rang out, loud and clear in urgency, he felt his chest heave in surprise and worry. "SHINON!" he felt something crash into his side, heaving him over to the ground close to a tree. The marksman forced himself to look up, trying to see through the smog that had become his sight. Rolf was crouching on the ground, clutching his chest, and Shinon's heart leapt.

No. He heard the rustling of the branches ahead of them as realization hit him. Bandits. Bandits had attacked Rolf.

No, not Rolf, but him. Shinon. Rolf had pushed him out of the way. Just as he had in the Mad King's War, and the Goddess's War after that.

A bandit cried out, falling with an arrow lodged in his throat. Rolf's arm was quivering as he was holding his bow, but he still managed to hit a second enemy in the stomach, and a third in the shoulder, then the head. Shinon watched as his apprentice took down all six bandits that had been heading for them minutes before and found himself sighing in relief. If it had just been him here, he would he dead by now. However, despite the brief happiness he felt for a moment, Shinon's throat grew dry when he saw Rolf slump over.

He forced his legs to move, crawling forward slowly. He reached the young man what seemed like several minutes later, his head pounding with his movements as he tried to force himself to go faster. Blurrily, he could only get one thought across his mind as it heaved up and down. _No, no, Rolf is…fine. He's fine…_

The marksman pulled up to the side of his young friend, hardly even noticing the thick, scarlet liquid drooling from Rolf's stomach. He kept his eyes trained on Rolf's face, which was screwed up in fear and pain. "Shinon," his voice was slow and not at all steady. "We have to get home…now."

Shinon nodded, immediately regretting it as his brain felt like multiple needles were being stuffed into it. Why, of all days, did he have to get drunk on this one? Somewhere in his mind, he remembered Oscar, giving him a damp cloth, and suddenly, the rushing water of the river nearby seemed much more distinct than it had been a moment before. If he could get there, maybe he could clear his head a little.

Surprised that he had thought of it, Shinon forced himself to turn and slowly stood, taking a slow step towards the river. Without Rolf's support, each movement made his legs feel more and more like dead weight, his mind growing duller. Eventually, however, he made it to the river and squatted in front of it. Without hesitation, he dunked his head into the clear water.

The sheer chilled temperature of the liquid stunned him for a moment, and his breath caught, but he managed to stay under. His mind was no longer falling asleep, but was rather screaming at him for bestowing this horrid feeling upon it. He felt like his head was going to explode, for the water pressing up against his ears.

He held his breath for as long as he could, eyes screwed shut, before shoving himself back up to the surface, spluttering at the sudden air that seemed to attack his lungs. He opened his eyes, wiping them on his sleeve. After that, he realized that his vision wasn't as blurry anymore, and he was able to think a little bit clearer. However, he wasn't sure how long this would last, so he hastily turned to go get Rolf.

The younger marksman had apparently crawled to where he was sitting right behind his old mentor, his eyes dark with agony. Had it been any other time, Shinon probably would have jumped at Rolf's sudden appearance, but urgency outweighed surprise as he already felt his concentration slipping back into drunkard oblivion.

He sat, gasping for a moment while watching Rolf press against his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding, but to no avail. It looked as though he had already used at least two vulneraries, but they didn't seem to be having much, if any, effect. Shinon blinked and grabbed his old apprentice's arm, just as Rolf and Oscar had done so many times for him. He stood, his body numb from the sudden douse of water as he hauled the younger man up. Wordlessly, he swung Rolf's arm over his shoulder and started to stagger towards the narrow foot bridge a few feet down the river.

He soon lost focus of how far they had gone or how long they had walked, but the sun was almost gone and his steps were becoming more and more unsteady as the seconds ticked by, his attention trickling away to a comfortably warm darkness.

Every time he felt himself start to fade, however, he'd snap back to attention, determined not to lose himself. Rolf's breathing was labored and uneven, which bothered the older marksman. He regulated his own intakes of air to his apprentice's which helped him imagine that Rolf wasn't bleeding egregiously, more and more of his life's blood trickling away by the instant.

The land become rockier as they started stumbling up a steep hill. Bandit country was long gone, so as long as they didn't run into any wild animals or anything of the sort, they should reach the fort without too much difficulty. Shinon forced himself on, trying desperately to hang on to his senses, at least until he got Rolf to safety. His head was bumbling and his body felt fuzzy, but he ignored it.

It had been a long time before Rolf finally broke the silence. "Hey…Uncle Shinon?" his voice was no more than a hoarse gasp, betraying how much pain he was in.

The older marksman's throat leapt at the strained sound and he gulped in a mouthful of air. "Don't talk," he managed without sounding too upset.

For a moment, the younger man obliged, but only for that long as he opened his mouth once more. "Shinon…whatever happens, don't you dare blame yourself, okay? Please don't blame yourself."

Shinon didn't know what to say, so he frowned, trying not to let reality crush in on him. When he spoke, he was surprised to find that his voice was strong, and he didn't have to try as hard not to sound slurred. "Of course I won't, because there will be nothing to blame. Everything's going to be alright, you hear me?"

Rolf was quiet for awhile before he spoke again. "Will you tell me that story now?"

Shinon almost looked at Rolf in surprise, but thought better of it, instead focusing on his feet. He considered the situation. If he could get Rolf to listen, then it just might be the one extra push they both needed to get out of this mess. "Yeah…yeah, sure kid. Just don't fall asleep on me, okay?" He waited for a moment, but received no answer. A funny feeling arose in the pit of his stomach. "Rolf?"

"I won't," he replied weakly, and Shinon wondered if he had said so before, but just hadn't been heard.

The older marksman struggled to remember the details of the story, of when Commander Greil had first rebuked him. "It was awhile ago, about a year before you and your brothers joined us. Gatrie and I were ordered not to leave the camp, but-"

"You went anyway?"

Shinon felt a small smile tug at him, despite the present circumstances. "Do you want to hear the story or not?"

Rolf chuckled dryly for a moment. "Yeah, I do."

"Then shut up," he said, not too harshly, for Rolf laughed softly again. But, Shinon frowned as the younger man's supposed glee became a fit of course hacks and coughs. The older marksman quickly continued, hoping to distract his apprentice. "Yeah, I did leave. I don't even really remember why I did anymore, but I left. Anyway, when I got back, Commander Greil was furious. He asked me, 'where did you go?'

I shrugged and replied, 'out.'

He wasn't too happy about that, so he seemed to get a little irritated and said, 'what were you doing?'

I was a little frightened by his tone- I was much younger then- and I tried to think of something that sounded a little creative. Finally, I settled on, 'I was looking for a better bow, so that I could do a better job in battle.'

Commander Greil, however, just kept looking at me and frowned. 'Is that your real reason, or just a petty excuse? If you want to have a better bow, you could have asked to go out, or made one yourself!' Isn't that interesting, Rolf? You weren't even here yet, and you still sound just like him when you ask me why I drink. Isn't that funny?"

Rolf didn't answer.

Shinon felt a lump build in his throat as he came to a stop. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but as he looked at their tracks, he saw his own footprints and two shallow divots from Rolf. He had been dragging the younger man without realizing it.

A feeling of dread wound its way through him, all of his haziness forgotten as his mind started running twice as fast, thinking of something to do. "Rolf?" he gently shook his shoulder, watching as the younger man's head lulled lazily on his shoulder. "Rolf?!" there was no response. "ROLF! ANSWER ME! ROLF!"

-------------------------

The Mercenary camp that usually was bursting at its seams with energy was eerily somber and silent that day.

Shinon sat on the couch for a moment as Rhys and Mist examined Rolf in another room, but he couldn't bear to just sit in one place, so he stood a few minutes later and started pacing the room. However, after turning to see Boyd and Oscar's worried faces, Gatrie's glazed eyes, and Mia wordlessly and thoughtlessly polishing her sword about fifty times, something snapped inside of him and he couldn't stand to be in that room any longer.

He walked to the stretch of land between the fort and forest on this side of the fort, but that was where he and Rolf practiced, so he immediately veered away from it. He came upon a patch of wildflowers and silently avoided that too, thinking about when Mist and Rolf had been kidnapped.

He felt drowsy, but whether it was the beer or not didn't matter anymore. All he could do was wait.

----------------------------

The sun was starting to rise by the time Gatrie came out to speak with him. The knight tried to say something, stopped, and started again, but no words came out. Shinon felt his stomach drop and his heart plummet- he didn't need to be told to know what had happened.

The rest of that day went by in a haze, yet each part of it was forever ingrained in Shinon's mind. Forever he would see Boyd stand from the couch after hours of silence, his chin resting on his hands which were propped by his elbows on his knees as the reaver rose to disappear into his room. Mia stared at her sword, her own eyes shining back at her, but whether she saw them or not was a different story.

Gatrie was downing drink after drink, his eyes bloodshot and his hands trembling. Rhys stood in front of the window, staring at the woods beyond. Shinon felt so…dirty among them that he eventually took his leave with the full intent of going to his room and never coming out again. However, in the hallway, he came upon and Oscar and his wife Astrid. The marksman had never seen the green haired silver knight break down, but here he was, his face buried in the former noblewoman's shoulder. Astrid had her arms wrapped delicately around her husband, her hands gently moving over his back in soothing circles and she quietly hummed a soft lullaby.

Shinon took a step back and saw two pairs of eyes- one dark green and the other a bright amber- gazing through a crack in the door of a room. The marksman ignored them, even as Rowan and his twin sister Imri opened the door fully, staring quizzically at their parents.

He continued up the stairs, trying his best to ignore the room where Rolf and Mist had stayed ever since they had gotten married. However, he heard a muffled sob and stopped dead in his tracks. Against all of his better judgment, Shinon backed up a few steps and slowly, silently opened the door the tiniest amount and looked in. He saw Mist, sitting on Rolf's bed with tears running freely down her face, dripping onto her swollen stomach that had been growing every day since about seven months before.

A realization hit Shinon so hard that he nearly stumbled over his feet when he turned, practically sprinting to his room at the end of the hall. His mind was racing, and his heart lurched with one thought- one grim, horrible thought.

Rolf would never meet his child.

------------------------------- (Yes, I know that Tauroneo's speech is a little off, but I figured that it's been several years and he'd probably speak to his friends in somewhat of a normal voice. Besides that, I think it just fit the mood here a bit better)

Shinon never drunk a sip of alcohol again.

Never.

Janaff stared at him quizzically, his eyes bright with worry. "Come on, Shinon! Have some fun." The marksman turned away, but the persistent hawk ran around to his other side before he could escape. "You can't keep living like this! You'll wither if you grieve anymore!"

Shinon closed his eyes and brushed past his old comrade, their shoulders touching for the shortest instant. He opened his orbs and looked around, recognizing everyone from the Mad King's and the Goddess's Wars. It seemed so cruel for them to all be here, reuniting and celebrating on this particular day. After all, it wasn't just the anniversary of the Goddess's War ending, it was also…the day that Rolf…

A hand gingerly fell on Shinon's shoulder, and the marksman turned warily to meet eyes with General Tauroneo. The Daein man was definitely what could be considered 'old and respected' at that point- all of his hair was either gray or white, including his mustache, and his face was lined with wrinkles, new and old, deep and shallow alike. "Are you okay?" His voice was deep and rich, and it echoed throughout Shinon hollowly.

The marksman shook the feeling off and shrugged. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

Tauroneo look at him disapprovingly. "You know…Oscar's health isn't the best right now. Rhys doesn't think he has much longer."

Shinon gulped at that thought. He had already lost one of the two most important people to him, so what was he going to do if he lost the other? Despite his thoughts, he still tried to put on a tough front. "Yeah? So what?"

"So," Tauroneo said patiently, obviously picking up on Shinon's actual feelings, "Astrid is in a very tight spot at the moment. Rolf was Rowan and Imri's godfather, and now that he no longer has the ability to help Astrid should the unthinkable happen, someone has to fill the gap."

"What do you want me to do about it? They aren't my kids."

Tauroneo sighed deeply. "No, but, in a sense, they were part Rolf's. If I remember correctly, didn't he ask you to be his and Mist's child's godfather before he…left?"

"…Yes," Shinon saw where this was going, and he didn't like it.

"Right, so, in some manner of thinking, since he's gone, wouldn't that make you somewhat of a secondary guardian to the other children he had a responsibility for?"

Shinon didn't answer, but looked at the ground, suddenly finding his shoes interesting.

Tauroneo nodded somewhat. "Shinon, it's been six years. You can't keep blaming yourself."

"Yeah," the marksman whispered. "Yeah, it's been six years, but it still feels like yesterday that he was sitting there, laughing with the rest of us. He smiled so much when he found out Mist was pregnant…and he was so happy when Oscar and Astrid got married. Why…"

The old Daein man scratched his head. "I think I understand now. You see Rolf in his son, don't you?" Shinon, again, fell silent. "I see," Tauroneo continued. "Yes, Leo does greatly resemble his late father. In fact, it's almost as close of a match as Oscar and Rowan, isn't it?"

Still, Shinon didn't answer. Every word was true. Leo did look like Rolf, eerily so, the only difference being that his hair had a slight light brown tint to it. Worse than that, the kid latched to him like a leech. Every time he saw Leo, he couldn't help but think of Rolf, and it would be no different with Rowan.

Imri looked more like Astrid than Oscar, but her brother was practically a copy of their father except for the fact that he didn't squint. If something was to happen, and Shinon were to help Astrid with raising her kids, like he was attempting to do with Mist, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to take it for more than a little while.

Tauroneo frowned deeply and nodded. "I can understand your discomfort, but Shinon…I'm sure that Rolf wouldn't want you to blame yourself, and I'm sure that he wouldn't want you to abandon your friend's children because of it. Oscar might be worried about it, and the least you can do is tell him that you'll be here if he's not."

"But if I say something like that to him," Shinon blurted without thinking first, "I'll basically be telling him that it's okay for him to die."

"Isn't it?" the old man asked incredulously.

Shinon stared at him in disbelief. "No!"

"But Shinon, look at Oscar. He's suffering. Tuberculosis is not a walk in the park! He's in pain. The only reason he's probably still here is that he doesn't want to leave behind a family. You can take away that pain! I'm not saying that I want Oscar to die, Yune forbid, but I will say that I don't want to see him coughing up blood and hiding it behind his back anymore when someone walks into the room. Rhys and Mist can't do anymore. He knows that. Yet, still, he's too worried to let go. Show him that it's alright."

Shinon shook his head, not wanting to listen anymore. He was greatly disturbed by the direction this conversation was taking. Oscar was very ill- that much was true. No one really expected him to be around for much longer. However…there was no reason to rush the silver knight along his way, was there? The marksman shook his head, forcing these thoughts from his mind. Why was he even thinking about them? There was no reason to.

Tauroneo opened his mouth when Shinon didn't say anything, presumably to continue, however, Rowan ran up at that moment, so he never got a chance to. The boy was twelve now, and was extremely short in comparison to his father. Indeed, he seemed to have taken on Astrid's petite stature. His eyes were wide and worried as he ran up to the two of them, his mouth clenched shut as he waited to know if it was okay to speak. Oscar had definitely taught him well. Tauroneo smiled at the small child. "What is it, son?"

Rowan looked at Shinon, his voice somewhat high in urgency. "Before he went away, Uncle Rolf told me that if I ever needed someone to talk to, I could confide in you," he said, somewhat warily, as though it was a question rather than a statement.

Shinon sighed. How had he gotten himself into this mess? He never really liked conversing with other people much. He had always thought that once Rolf had grown up enough, that would be that and he could go on with his life. But no, as fate would have it, Rolf saw it as a priority to tell his nephew about his old mentor's soft spot for kids. Joy. "What do you want?" he asked tiredly. After talking with Tauroneo about such things, he felt a headache coming on and wanted nothing more than to go lie down.

Rowan scuffed his feet against the ground for a moment, not sure what to say. "I think something bad happened."

"Why don't you tell your dad about it?" the marksman questioned, somewhat harshly. He really wanted to go and be alone now.

However, at that point, Rowan's face snapped up and dark green eyes met gray. "But that's the problem! I was talking to dad and he was cooking, but after awhile, he started stammering…He fell down and he won't get back up!"

Shinon blinked as a sudden coldness swept through his chest.

No. Not again.

Oscar collapsed sometimes, but he'd always wake up within a few minutes. If Rowan was this worried, then it must have been at least a little while ago.

Without another word, with hardly a thought, Shinon rushed off to the door that led to the kitchen, his head filling with images of six years ago- when he could have saved Rolf if he had just moved faster.

When he arrived in the small, cramped room, he looked around and almost immediately found Oscar, lying on the floor. The silver paladin had his apron on over his dark green turtleneck. Shinon scrambled over, Tauroneo right behind him. "Oscar," the marksman said urgently, reaching his friend and grabbing his shoulder, shaking him roughly. The silver knight's skin was still warm, unnaturally so. _He has a fever, _Shinon noticed as he tried again. "Oscar, wake up!"

"Rowan," Tauroneo said calmly to the boy, kneeling next to Shinon, "Go get Rhys."

There were a few hurried steps and what sounded like trips as Rowan attempted to comply.

---------------------------

He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there, or when Rowan and Imri had fallen asleep. Astrid was sitting in a chair on the other side of the room, silently staring at her husband. Oscar was lying in bed, after a long trip of Tauroneo and Shinon hauling him there on their shoulders. His breathing was labored and sounded harsh, as though he wasn't able to get enough air. He shivered violently, probably because of the fever.

Shinon watched as Oscar slept, hardly daring to move, much less speak in the tense room. Boyd had left long ago, unable to stay. Who could blame him? His father figure and older brother was dying, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

The room got darker as the day wore on. Nobody else came in. Nobody wanted to disrupt the peace.

All of the light outside was nearly gone when Oscar finally woke. Shinon jumped, looking to the dark window and realizing that he must have dozed off at some point. Astrid had left, along with Imri, but Rowan remained, staring at his father. "Dad?" The kid's voice was so soft and worried that Shinon could hardly hear it.

The silver paladin gave a wry grin, plastered with pain as he tried in vain to sit up straighter. "What is it, son?"

"You…you fell asleep," Rowan said lamely, obviously not wanting to say that he had really blacked out.

Oscar rubbed his eyes warily. "Did I?" his voice was weak, hampered by the fact that he was forcing it out. "For how long?"

Shinon answered when Rowan couldn't. "From around noon, so I'd say almost the whole day."

Oscar sighed. "That's wonderful…Where's Astrid?" he asked, probably noticing that she was missing, but her chair was still close to the bed.

"Granddad got here awhile ago, and she and Imri went to go see him."

Shinon blinked. He had completely forgotten that Astrid's father and his family were coming today. For the first time, the old lord had actually taken interest in his daughter since she had left her home. _Probably because he could drop dead at any moment,_ the marksman thought grudgingly.

Oscar, however, just nodded. "I see. That's good…You should go see them too, Rowan," he said, nodding softly at his son.

"But I want to stay with you," the kid protested, grabbing the blanket spread on his father's bed.

"I need to talk to Uncle Shinon, okay? You go meet your family. Can you do that for me?"

Shinon stared. Oscar never really ever asked his family to do things for him- he always worked his butt off to provide for them. Rowan seemed to think this too, for after a moment of silence, he calmly bowed his head, stood from his chair, and walked to the door. The sound from the reunion party drifted in for a moment, bright and happy, before the door closed and drowned it out slightly. The marksman looked at Oscar, wondering what could possibly be so important that Rowan had to leave. However, he thought of what Tauroneo had said to him earlier, and dread washed over him.

Oscar seemed to think a moment before speaking. "I saw Rolf earlier today," he said finally, staring at Shinon. He was still squinting, but the marksman could feel the younger man's gaze.

Shinon was very disturbed by this statement, but he tried not to react. "Did you, now?" he inquired conversationally.

The silver knight nodded slowly. "Out by the forest, through the window in the kitchen. That's the last thing I remember before waking up."

"I see," was all Shinon said to this.

Silence fell over them for a good while before Oscar continued. "Shinon…I'm not sure if I can keep doing this. My body's getting weak. I think it's telling me that's it's almost time to let go. But…I can't. I can't leave my family alone. Not like that."

Shinon didn't answer. He knew what was coming, and he didn't like it.

Oscar, after waiting a few moments, sighed. "I know I'm asking a lot…but, Shinon, I need your help. Boyd has his own kids to take care of and…you're the only one here that I trust enough to ask. When I'm gone, please, watch over Rowan and Imri."

Still, Shinon didn't answer. He didn't want this. He didn't want to tell Oscar it was okay to go.

"Please Shinon, I begging you. I know you blame yourself for what happened to Rolf. You shouldn't, but you do, and I know that watching over Leo is hard for you, but…I don't know where else to turn. Astrid shouldn't have to do this herself."

"She won't," Shinon finally managed, and was mortified to hear how unsteady his voice was. He quickly tried to reinforce it. "All of the Greil Mercenaries are here, right next to her. I don't see why this is such a problem."

"Because children need someone there. They need a person to talk to, not as a friend or an uncle, but as a father. Please Shinon- you're the only one I can think of to help."

"But what do you expect me to able to do?" the marksman had no children, and he didn't plan on any in the future, so he was at a complete loss.

"Nothing," Oscar said simply, shrugging, but stopping as it made him cough violently afterwards. "Just be there. Listen when they have problems, and if you can, try to help them solve them. Don't do it for them, just be their guide. Be the person they can go to in times of trouble and watch from a distance."

Shinon shook his head slowly. He wasn't sure if he was a suitable candidate for this. He had enough trouble with Leo. Why should he have to be the one to deal with this anyway? Still, seeing Oscar stare at him, his face full of hope and pleading, the marksman knew that he wouldn't be able to fight this. The least he could do, if Oscar was really reaching the end, was make sure that the younger man had some form of comfort, something to let him know that everything was alright on this end.

So, against his better judgment, Shinon resigned himself. "Okay," he said gloomily. A thought in the back of his mind told him that this was it. After he said this, Oscar might not fight so hard anymore, but he waved it away. How many times had he gone somewhere dangerous, whether it was place or a situation, only because he knew Rolf or Oscar had his back? Now it was his turn to offer his shoulder. "I'll help them."

The last thing Oscar managed before falling back asleep was a weak smile.

-------------------------

Shinon wasn't sure how he made it through to the next morning. The night before, everyone had been so…gloomy. They all spent their time telling Boyd and Astrid how sorry they all were, some not even pausing to notice that Rowan and Imri were standing right to the side. The marksman wasn't very happy to see the two kids trying their best to face their father's condition. They weren't old enough for this- twelve years old, and it disturbed him to think that they might have to live the rest of their lives with a mediocre substitute for a dad, namely, himself.

Several times, he felt like smacking himself in the face. What was he thinking, taking on this responsibility? If anything, he had failed miserably in that job up to this point.

Although he was the child's godfather, Leo had taken more of a liking to Oscar. However, whenever the younger man was unconscious or doing something, the little boy would settle for his dear old Uncle Shinon. Strangely, he spent more time with either of them than Mist, who had never really gotten out of the stage of grieving for Rolf. Whether or not Leo understood what was happening with Oscar or not was a matter all in itself, but he seemed to have the sense not to bother the silver knight when he was in bed. Instead, he turned to someone else.

In other words, he followed Shinon around in all waking hours. It drove the marksman insane.

Several times, Janaff poked fun at him about it. "Hey, Shinny, I didn't know you had a little chick for a kid!" however, the hawk had never really met Leo up until that night. He and the other Phoenicians hadn't been able to make it to the reunion for the last few years due to bad weather in the sky. Therefore, when Rhys shyly explained that Leo was Rolf's child, the hawk's eyes grew wide, he turned to Shinon, and expressed his most humble apologies. This incident also occurred with several others over the years, namely Lyre, Calill, Edward, Largo, and Makalov.

Shinon ignored all of them. He was always too caught up with how much it felt like Rolf had returned whenever Leo followed him anywhere. The kid looked almost identical to a small, six year old version of his father, and he acted in very much the same way. Even more eerie was how he never spoke, just as Rolf didn't when he had first started 'stalking' his mentor.

The day after the main party of the reunion, Shinon awoke to find various veterans spread throughout the entire fortress, passed out from the activities the night before. The marksman quietly made his way through all of the silent, sleeping bodies- well…silent unless you counted Gatrie snoring at the bar- with Leo right behind him, neither wanting to wake anyone up.

However, their efforts were in vain as they literally ran into someone as they turned around a corner. Shinon felt himself bump into an extremely light person, and looked up as snow white feathers flew into his face. That was when he came face to face with her again. Leanne.

The female heron stared back for a moment before her gaze fell to Leo at his side. Shinon found himself inwardly groaning. _Yet another person to mistake him as my son… _However, Leanne did no such thing. After a few uneventful moments of her inspecting the child, she pointed gently at him. "He looks like Rolf," she said quietly. Her voice was as smooth as silk, and her use of the modern tongue had improved a great amount in the years since the last war.

Shinon blinked. She remembered Rolf? He quickly thought of something to say. "Um…yeah, this is Leo. He's Rolf's son."

Leanne nodded before looking back at Shinon. "You are godfather?"

"Yes, yes, that's correct."

She cocked her head to the side slightly, her eyes boring into his. "Oscar's too?"

Shinon had to think about that one for a moment. Technically, Rolf was who Oscar had named the godfather of his children. However, did that mean that Shinon replaced him, in light of the conversation he had had last night? If anything, he was the closest thing possible to it. "I suppose you could say that…"

Leanne was silent for a moment. "Do good," she finally said, smiling lightly.

"What?" he asked confusedly, not sure what she was trying to say. "What do you mean?"

"Do good with Rowan and Imri, like him," she nodded slightly towards Leo.

"But…I haven't really done anything with Leo…"

Leanne opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment, Astrid came running over to them. The former noblewoman practically skidded to a stop as she fell out of her full-fledged sprint. She was gasping greatly as she reached them. "Oh, thank goodness I found someone else awake this early in the morning."

Shinon stared at her, wondering what had gotten Astrid in such a rush. Immediately, his thoughts flew to Oscar. "What's wrong?" he asked, sounding a little harsher than he had intended to.

"Oscar…" she paused slightly to catch her breath, "is gone."

Shinon felt his blood turn to ice, becoming so numb that he hardly noticed when Leo got a grip on his hand, squeezing with all the strength his tiny body could muster. Leanne blinked and covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes growing wide. "Gone?" the marksman was able to manage after a few moments. "What do you mean 'he's gone'?"

"He's not present in our room, and I've already searched the surrounding rooms. I can't find him anywhere. Perhaps the two of you wouldn't be too troubled to help me?"

Leanne nodded and started to reassure Astrid, but Shinon turned away. Oscar was missing…But where would he have gone? Where_ could_ he have gone? He had been out almost all day yesterday, so it was highly doubtful that he'd be able to get very far this early in the morning. Leo was already moving to the others that lay strewn around the living room, liberating those from sleep that looked and sounded the least bit drunk. Already he had enlisted Mia, Jill, Zihark, Haar, Tauroneo, and Nephenee to help.

That entire morning was very frenzied in Shinon's mind as everyone that could balance decently on two feet went off in search of the absent silver knight. Shinon wracked his brain, trying to find something, anything that could help their efforts. Oscar shouldn't be alone in his condition. The marksman didn't really know how bad his friend's illness was, but he could tell by Rhys' reaction when they woke him up that it wasn't good.

_Think, think, THINK Shinon. Oscar said something yesterday, right? What was it? _

He tried to remember, searching their entire conversation mentally, but it still took him a little while to find what he was looking for. He vaguely recalled Oscar, his voice hoarse and saying something very disturbing.

"_I saw Rolf earlier today." _

Shinon stopped on his way to check the kitchen for the fourth time and turned instead to the room Rolf and Mist used to share. However, when he got there, all he saw was a wide bed, a desk, and bookshelf, and a small bedside table. Mentally, he kicked himself. If Oscar had come here, Mist would have noticed when she woke up, right? The marksman couldn't think of anywhere he had left to look, and he kicked the wall in frustration. Why had Oscar left like this? What was the point?

Realizing what he had just done, Shinon took a deep breath. He wouldn't be any help now if he were to lose his temper. Instead, he looked out the window to the dense forest beyond, thinking hard. There was something else, something that Oscar had said that had struck him the night before…

"_Out by the forest, through the window in the kitchen." _

The marksman blinked, a grim realization falling on him. Oscar had seen Rolf, out by the forest. The forest… Rolf's grave was in the forest.

Before he knew what he was doing, Shinon was charging to the woods, following the familiar path he had taken almost every day for the past six years. Oscar had to be there. If he wasn't, then Shinon didn't know where else to look, where else to turn.

However, as he reached his destination, he saw that his rush hadn't been in vain. There, sitting right at the edge of a small mound in front of a small tombstone was Oscar, staring at the ground pensively. Shinon was gasping at that point, but ignored the burning in his chest as he came up behind his friend. "Oscar?" he asked after a moment, softly.

The silver knight twitched somewhat, but gave no other indication that he had heard.

After a moment or two of silence, Shinon cleared his throat. "Oscar," he began, slightly louder, "What are you doing out here?"

"Rolf asked me to come," the man answered. "He said you'd find me here."

"…And you listened to him?"

"What kind of older brother would I be if I hadn't?"

Shinon shook his head, not believing what he was hearing for a moment. "Oscar, I hate to say this, especially when it's obvious that you already know, but Rolf is-"

"You don't have to tell me."

The wind whispered through the small area, bringing a small chill with it. Shinon shivered slightly and walked up to Oscar, sitting beside him. He had done this before, so many times, so many days in a row. Almost each and every time, Oscar had come to join him. Now he was returning the favor. They sat for a moment, neither saying anything. Surprisingly, Oscar was the one to break the silence.

"Rolf used to tell me that you were a good person, that you listened to his problems and forced him to work through them himself. When he did, I started looking myself and saw what he meant. You don't like taking care of people, but you don't mind caring for them. That's why, when someone has a problem, you force them to look at it with their own eyes, and tell them to get through it with their own power. That's why I asked you…you, of all people to help my children grow up. Astrid is a great mother, there's no doubt about that, but she might find it difficult to handle both of them by herself. That's why…"

Shinon listened, not sure what to say as Oscar dropped off. He struggled for words that might help him through this. "Yes, but I don't quite understand what you mean."

Oscar was silent for a moment. "You know Leo? Do you realize that you and I basically raised him on our own?" Shinon thought, and with a small shock, he realized that the younger man was right. Since Rolf had passed, Mist had practically retreated from life. Ike wasn't here anymore to set her straight either. Even Titania, who had been her friend, had left to become a knight again. He and Oscar had looked after Leo themselves. Mist did help, yes, but not nearly as much as a mother should. Oscar continued, "I've seen your care, however coarse it is, and I know that you will always be there."

"Really now? How so?"

Shinon hadn't meant it to be a joke, but Oscar tone was definitely somewhat teasing as he responded. "You've had how many drinks in your life? And yet, there seems to be no lasting effects in you. Amazing." He chuckled somewhat, but his glee suddenly erupted into a fit of coughs.

Shinon waited for them to subside, but after almost a minute, they still hadn't. Worriedly, he looked over to his friend only to see Oscar covering his mouth with his hands. The marksman awkwardly patted the younger man on the back, not sure what to do until the silver knight stopped a little while later. When he pulled his hands away, Shinon saw some red residue in his friend's palms and felt his stomach squeeze uncomfortably. "Oscar, are you okay?"

The younger man nodded and opened his mouth to answer, however, all he did was wheeze a little more and he slumped on Shinon's shoulder. The marksman seriously thought for a moment that his own heart had stopped as his friend collapsed again and took deep breaths for a moment to calm himself down. However, contrary to his initial belief, Oscar hadn't blacked out. He coughed some more as he slid off Shinon's shoulder to the ground. Shinon stared, clueless as to what he should do. "Oscar?"

Oscar managed to stop after a bit and scrunched his face up in pain for a moment. "Shin…on…"

"Yes?" his heart leapt lightly when he heard how soft his friend's voice was. How weak.

"Promise me…"

"Yes, I'll take care of Rowan and Imri, okay? Just stay with me," the marksman's voice was urgent, and he wasn't sure where it had come from.

Oscar nodded. "And…don't blame…yourself…anymore." Every one of his words seemed to be a struggled to choke out.

Shinon didn't want him to talk anymore, but if this was the end, then what sort of friend would he be if he didn't listen to Oscar's final request? "Don't blame myself for what?" he felt odd, like his eyes were swelling slightly as he asked.

"For…Rolf's death…he wouldn't…be…happy…" Oscar coughed more, and Shinon didn't say anything else.

How could he comply with that?

Oscar grabbed the sleeve of his tunic, squeezing with all of the strength he had left. "Promise me."

Shinon stared at his friend's face as a small dribble of blood escaped his mouth and traveled down his chin, dripping onto his dark green turtleneck. There was such intensity in his eyes, such determination that Shinon couldn't deny him. His vision blurred slightly as he answered. "Alright," he said. Oscar nodded slowly and smiled, relaxing on the hard, cold ground.

"I'm…glad," he said quietly. A moment later, his grip on Shinon's sleeve loosened and his arm dropped to the ground. There was a cold feeling in the marksman's stomach for a little while before he was able to process what had just happened.

Oscar had that feeling about him- the same that Rolf had had on the way home six years ago, and Shinon didn't even need to check to be sure.

For the first time that he could remember, a single, stray tear found its way slowly sliding down the marksman's cheek.

---------------------------

That night, the moon was shining brightly down on the ground below. Shinon stared at Rolf's tombstone. He had long since hauled Oscar back to the fort, Tauroneo running out to help him as the old man realized what had happened. There had been so much sympathy on the old Daein man's face that it made Shinon feel uncomfortable.

However, out here, it felt right. Everything did. He wasn't sure why, but when he was with Rolf, it was like sudden understanding had rendered him dumbfounded and unmovable. He wasn't sure how long he had sat there by the time she joined him, and he didn't feel like thinking about it either. All he knew was that he was getting used to her presence, though they had only talked a few times. "What do you want?" he said finally after about five minutes.

Leanne walked a little closer, her feet sweeping gracefully across the ground. "We worried."

"'We' being who?"

"Everyone."

Shinon sighed. He had really wanted to be alone with his old apprentice, but that apparently wasn't going to happen. "So, I'll come back later. Now you can leave."

Leanne, however, merely sat next to him. Shinon was so shocked by this that he couldn't say anything. The heron girl looked at Rolf's gravestone for a moment before speaking. "They were right," she said in that tiny, light voice of hers.

"Who?" he asked, confused.

"Rolf and Oscar. You would make good father."

Shinon couldn't believe what he had just heard. "What? How would you know?"

Her eyes were calmer than a drifting cloud in the middle of spring when she answered. "I know. Leo loves you. Leo respects you. He may not say, but I know. He thinks of you as father. Rowan and Imri look up to you. They think of you as father figure. They think of you as favorite uncle. They love you. They respect you."

Shinon blinked, not sure how to react. Did Leo really think that highly of him? Did Imri and Rowan? He wasn't sure, now that he thought of it. He couldn't read people like books, like Oscar could. He couldn't understand them very well, like Rolf could at points. Though, now that he thought of it, sometimes, people did talk to him. People did tell him things that they wouldn't normally.

Why was that? Gatrie had long since decided to stay with him. Oscar, calm and clever as he was, had chosen him to take care of things once he was gone. He had attracted Rolf, who had been a sniveling, bratty kid at the time. Janaff had inexplicably started following him around too. Even Tauroneo talked to him seriously when hardly anyone else would. Why did he get this sort of attention? What had he done to make people think he was worthy of their time? Even Leanne had come all the way out here to talk to him, and she had hardly even ever seen him when he wasn't drunk.

He just couldn't understand it.

Leanne did though, and she smiled warmly at him. "There many things we no understand, but there many things we have, even when we no see them. Oscar had his family and mercenaries and you. Rolf had his wife and mercenaries and unborn child and you. And you have what you gave to them, without knowing."

Shinon looked at her, wondering what she meant. "What is that?"

She smiled wider, taking his calloused hand in both of her soft ones, clenching it slightly. "You have support we are all willing to give."

The marksman blinked, thinking about that. After a moment, he realized that she was right.

Gatrie, Mia, Mist, Rhys, Astrid, Rowan, Imri, Leo... who all lived with him at the fort were there.

Tauroneo, Janaff, Titania, Soren, Ike, Leanne…and others who were harder to reach, but still around could be kept in touch.

And then, last of all, yet most prominent, Oscar and Rolf...along with Commander Greil were always by his side, watching over him.

They would lend him their strength and give him whatever support they could, no matter where they were. And that was something that he would never have noticed, never have known, if it wasn't for this one being, this one that he had hated for her race, had looked down upon with contempt...

It was because of Leanne that he now could hold his head high and look to the future.

For he would never be alone.

_Author's Note: _Sorry if you didn't like the ending…I know it was kind of sudden. Anyway, just so that there's no confusion, here some things you might want to know-

1 In this story, Soren went with Ike on his long quest, so that's why he wasn't here.

2 Titania is still a Crimean Knight at this point.

3 The other veterans only visit for the anniversary of the Goddess's War, not the Mad King's War. This is so the dawn brigade and everyone can come too.

4 Tauroneo met Shinon before he rejoined Greil Mercenaries, when Shinon was captured by Daein. If you read "Prisoner in Reality", than this probably makes more sense…

5 Yes, Oscar had tuberculosis. I called it that so that everyone would know what it is- and I don't know if the Tellius inhabitants would have a different name for it.

6 Leanne doesn't love Shinon, she's just there for him and vice versa.

7 Oscar's back with the Greil Mercenaries because he and Astrid left the knights to get married and have kids. He also was having trouble with the beginnings of his illness. He survived so long because of his will and the magic of staves.

Thanks for reading my story. I want to write more stuff on this site later, so I hope to see all of you there. Please, if you have time, review so that I can know how I did.


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